Auto felt washer cutting machine



Q u a Jluliy 17, 1934. J. HORHOROUNY AUTO FELT WASHER CUTTING MACHINEFiled Nov. 25, 1930 Patented July 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEApplication November 2 3 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for cutting washers, gaskets, and thelike from felt or other :suitable material.

My machine is especially intended for use in garages and repair shopswhere washers and gaskets of widely varying sizes and differentthicknesses are always in demand and where it is not practicable tocarry any large stock on hand.

Consequently, my invention has for its general object to provide asimple and extremely inexpensive machine for quickly and easily cuttingany desired size and thickness of washer or gasket. My machine may besold at a price which will permit it to be owned by every garage andrepair shop, no matter how small, so that the machine may be used onlywhen needed, thus making it unnecessary for the garage or repair shop tocarry in stock the widely varying sizes and thicknesses of washers orgaskets which it would otherwise need to have.

. My machine is characterized by a simplicity of design andinexpensiveness of construction which well recommends it for itsintended field of use, and the actual work of cutting a washer or thelike of the desired size and thickness is at once easy and rapid.

In such cutting operation,the material from which the washer or otherarticle to be cut is centered and clamped against movement on astationary bed or base and is'cut by rotating a cutter of special designand special mounting thereover and therethrough. Such cutter is a simpleknife blade disposed at right angles to a horizontally extending cuttercarrying arm- The knife arm rotates over the Work in an'orbit having forits center a stationary stud rising from the base. The knife blade isoffset laterally relative to said arm and is disposed directly. oppositesaid stud and parallel thereto. The arm is loosely sleeved about saidstud so that it may be forced downwardly therealong to cause the knifeblade to work through the material in the cutting operation. Byadjusting the blade longitudinally along said arm towards or away fromthe stud the diameter of the opening cut in the material may be variedas desired.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated a form of my machinewhich I have found highly satisfactory under actual service conditions.In such drawing:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my machine and showing a piece of materialpositioned thereon in readiness to be cut.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my machine.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail section particu- 5, 1930, Serial No.498,024

larly showing the clamping plate for holding the material againstmovement while the cutter is at work.

Fig. 4 is a detail section illustrating the mounting of the cutter.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clamping plate shown in Fig. 3removed, and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the cutter holding unit removed.

I have indicated generally at 1 a base. Supported on said base is apiece of material 2 from which the washer, gasket or other article is tobe cut.

The base may consist of a bottom plate of metal and a superposed plateof wood or other material which will not dull the cutter blade when itcuts through the material 2 resting thereon.

Fixed centrally of the base 1 in any suitable manner is a stud 3. Saidstud extends above the base as a vertical bearing or axis for the hub 4of a horizontally extending rotatable cutter carrying arm 5.

The arm 5 is longitudinally slotted as at 6 to permit in and outadjustment of the cutter '7 carried thereby horizontally towards andfrom the stud 3, thus to vary the diameter of the opening cut in thematerial 2.

The arm 4 may be graduated as shown in Fig. 1 to permit accurate settingof the cutter '7 according to the diameter of the opening which is to becut in the material.

As here shown, the stud 3 just above the upper surface of the base isthreaded as at 8. Beyond said threaded portion 8 the stud 3 extends as asmooth portion of reduced diameter over which the hub 4 of the cutterarm 5 is loosely sleeved. The threaded portion 8 is cut away verticallyat one side, as indicated at 9, to provide in effect a keyway by meansof which a work clamping'plate 10 may be assembled thereon from above,said plate having a central opening 11 therethrough adapted to fit thethreaded portion 8 of the stud and having projecting into said opening akey 12 adapted to be entered within the keyway 9 of the threaded portion8. This construction enables the plate 10 to be run down over thethreads 8 from above, the key and keyway preventing rotation of saidplate on said. -stud.

The plate 10 is adapted tobe clamped against the work 2 by means of anysuitable nut 13 engaging the threaded portion 8 above the plate. Toinsure proper grip of the material, the plate itself is provided on itsunder face with a plutered upon the stud 3 from above.

rality of downwardly extending barbs 14 which may be conveniently strucktherefrom, as best shown in Fig. 5, for the purpose of penetrativelyengaging the material 2 and holding it against rotation relative to thebase during the cutting operation.

It will be understood that a set of clamping plates of varying sizes isprovided and that a plate of the proper size is used according to thesize of the washer being cut.

The cutter arm 5 is slightly offset with relation to the axis ofrotation of said arm as determined by the stud 3, and the cutter 7 ismounted vertically on said arm and occupies a plane parallel to andopposite the plane of the stud 3 but spaced therefrom varying distancesaccording to the adjustment of said cutter in the slot 6 of said arm.

The cutter itself is a simple blade disposed at right angles to theplane of the arm 5 and olfset laterally relative thereto. It has asharpened cutting edge at its lower end and is assembled upon the arm 5in the relation shown by means of the holder detailed in Fig. 6.

Such holder comprises a blade receiving portion 14 which is verticallyslotted from top to bottom as at 15 to accommodate the blade 7. Beyondthe slotted portion 14 the holder extends as a pair of symmetricallydisposed wings '16 constituting oppositely extending bearing portions ofa shape and size to fit slidably within the slot 6 of the arm 5, as bestshown in Figs. 2 and 4. Beyond the bearing portions 16 the holderextends as a threaded portion 17 alined with the slotted portion 14 andon which a wing nut 18 or the like is adapted to be run for the purposeof holding the adjustment of the blade holder in the slot 6 of the arm5.

By means of this construction the adjacent straight edge 19 of the blade7 is positioned in line contact with the adjacent face of the slottedarm 6 perpendicularly thereto with the blade itself disposedtransversely to the major axis of said arm and atone sideof the arm. Thefit of the hub 4 on the stud 3 is sufliciently loose to allow the knifeblade to work down through the material under the pressure of the handin rotating the blade over the material.

In use, a blank of the proper thickness is cen- Where the material is offelt, for example, the stud simply punches a small hole therethrough asthe material is forced downwardly thereover, and the material restsflatly on the base.

A clamping plate 10 of the proper size is next placed upon the stud 3from above, penetrated into the material, and clamped by means of thenut 13.

The cutter blade 7 is then adjusted laterally in the slot of the arm 5according to the size of the washer to be cut and its sharpened lowerend rotated through the material 2 by grasping the arm by means of itshandle or knob 19 and rotating said arm about said stud 3 as an axis,the arm being progressively forced down along the stud as the blade cutsthrough the material.

In such cutting action, the blade is backed by its line contact at 19with the arm 5 against buckling or bending while cutting. As a result,

the article cut on my machine is a washer or the like the central.opening of which is cut cleanly throughout its entire circumferencewithout deviation from either the horizontal or the vertical.

Various modifications in structure and assembly may obviously beresorted to within the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined bythe appended claims.

I claim:-

1. A cutter of the class described comprising a base presenting a flatupper surface on which a sheet of the material to be cut is adapted tobe positioned, a fixed stud rising vertically from said base, ahorizontally disposed cutter arm rotatable about said stud as an axisand having a longitudinally extending slot, a blade holder comprising avertically slotted portion at one side of said arm, lateral bearingportions extending from said slotted portion at either side thereof andadapted for sliding engagement in the slot of said arm, and a threadedportion in the opposite side of said arm and spaced from said slottedportion by said lateral bearing portions, means for clamping the bladeholder at any selected position of adjustment along said slot, and ablade extending vertically from said blade holder and having a sharpenedlower end adapted when the arm is rotated about the stud as an axis tocut'from the material supported upon said base a circle having the studas its center.

2. A device for cutting washers, comprising a base presenting a flathorizontal supporting surface on which a sheet of the material to be cutis adapted to be flatly positioned, a fixed stud extending verticallyfrom said base approximate- 1y centrally thereof, a cutter armterminating at its inner endin a bearing sleeve adapted to be sleevedover said stud from above, said arm extending horizontally :of said baseabove and parallel to the plane of the same and having at its outer endan operating handle whereby the arm may be rotated over said base aboutsaid stud .as an axis and having a longitudinally extending slot betweensaid sleeve portion and said handle, a blade holder having a bearingportion formed to frictionally engage the opposite internal edges ofsaid slot and slidable longitudinally therealong, means for clampingsaid blade holder at any selected position of adjustment along saidslot, a straight flat knife blade rigidly mounted on and extendingvertically from said blade holder and-having a sharpened lower endadapted when the arm is rotated about the stud as an axis to cut fromthe sheet of material supported on said base, a circle having the studas its center, and a plurality of prongs disposed about the stud as acenter and adapted for penetration into the sheet of material supportedon said base whereby to restrain the sheet against movement during thecutting action.

3. A cutter comprising a material supporting base, a fixed stud risingvertically from said base, a horizontally disposed cutter arm rotatableabout said stud as an axis and having a longitudinally extending slotintermediate of its top and bottom surfaces,-a blade holder disposed atright angles to said arm and having a bearing portion slidable withinsaid slot, means for clamping said blade holder at any selected positionof adjustment along said slot, a straight fiat knife blade rigidlymounted on said blade holder vertically thereof, said blade-beingdisposed edgewise to the adjacent side wall of the arm and terminatingin a sharpened lower end adapted when the arm is rotated about the studas an axis to cut from the material supported upon said base a circlehaving the stud as its center.

JOSEPH HORHOROUNY.

